Don't Use God's Grace As An Excuse For Sin

Today we are talking a bit about excuses to sin. Here is a couple of excuses for thing I thought were funny:

When our new hire didn’t show up for work, I called her. She explained that her mother had passed away and that she would need a few days off for bereavement. “Of course,” I said.

A week went by, and she still hadn’t returned to work. So I called again. This time, she said she had good news and bad. The good news: Her mother had come back to life. The bad news: She was sick again, so she had to stay home with her. —Benjamin Weber Cincinnati, Ohio.

Working on an oil rig in North Dakota during the winter weeds out the riffraff. One day, one of my workers told me he had to go home to get a warmer coat. He was gone for a few days before finally calling to tell me he was home. Home, by the way, was sunny Texas. —Leon Hewson Amidon, North Dakota

I had someone call into work saying that they were going to be late. Why? Because they were at home sleeping but dreamed they were at work so they didn’t realize they had to get up. - No Author Cited

Historical/Cultural Context -

The Gospel of John was written between 90 AD and 100 AD. Scholars also believe that John wrote the three Epistles and the book of Revelation around the same time-frame as he wrote this Gospel. The Gospel of John was written after Matthew, Mark, & Luke had been written and circulated. John has been dubbed by most scholars as “The Spiritual Gospel.”

Biblical Text -

John 8:1–11 NKJV

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - We Will Be Tested, Don’t Let It Or Anything Else Be An Excuse For Sin.

Life Point- You Will Be Tested By Others

Exegetical -

John 8:1–6 NKJV

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

Homiletical -

So Jesus is done teaching at the temple and moves to the Mount of Olives.

The next day early in the morning the Pharisees brings Him and adulteress to judge.

Now we know that Jesus knew their heart and knew their silly little game.

They set Him up for failure. If He had said to stone her, then they would accuse Him of being heartless and laking in mercy.

If He said to not stone her, then He would be guilty of not following the law of Moses.

So in typical Jesus fashion He comes up with a third option.

He stoops to the ground and starts writing. Many people have speculated what He actually wrote on the ground. In reality we may never know. Some have speculated it was their names, others say it was their sins. Maybe it was both. We may never know.

One thing is for certain, there are evil people out there who mean to do the Christian harm by accusing us of things we never did nor ever said.

They will accuse us falsely and even at times for things we actually said or did. For example, you will be accused for being a bigot because you said homosexuality is a sin, and like all sin it will separate you from God.

Romans 3:23 NLT

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

Romans 6:23 NLT

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yes we do say it is sin and just like any other sin it is a slap in the face of God. Today, however, you will be called all kinds of things for saying that.

Even the early prophets and Christians had this problem.

Matthew 5:11–12 NLT

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Acts 6:8–15 NLT

Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.

Stephen was one such saint that was falsely accused even to the point of being the first Christian Martyr recorded in the Scriptures. You see these men caused people to accuse Him of blasphemy and in so doing secured his fate.

So what should our response be when this happens? Notice I said when, not if. Because if you are living for Christ, mark my words if it hasn’t happened yet, it will happen and probably sooner than you think.

Luke 21:14–15 NLT

So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!

Life Point - Don’t Give Up On God & Give In To Sin

Exegetical -

John 8:7–11 NKJV

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Homiletical -

So while Jesus is writing on the ground they continued to ask Him and pester Him. So He stands up and says, “If you have no sin, then you cast the stone.”

Then He continues to write on the ground.

So being convicted everyone leaves.

Jesus asks where her accusers are and is anyone left to accuse her. She answers, “No one.”

and here is the key. “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

In today’s day and age we are good about the forgiveness part, for the most part, but we forget about the “go and sin no more” part.

Romans 5:20–6:14 NLT

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

You see we have it all wrong. In our society sin is shown to us as fun. But let me tell you something, we don’t need that kind of thing in our lives. Because the world’s fun always comes with a cost.

Galatians 6:7–8 NLT

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

Hebrews 11:25 NLT

He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Sin’s pleasures are fleeting. Don’t fall prey to it’s beguiling.

Matthew 7:13–20 NKJV

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

You will know the fruit, or the end result of a choice or action by what it produces. Does it produce righteousness, that is right living before God? Does it produce the opposite?

Sin in your life, whether it is done against you or you are committing it, may look like it is causing no harm but I guarantee the end result is something you won’t be happy with.

Look at the broken homes we have today. Who pays the price for that? You do and if there are children involved, they do. It may not have been your fault, it may have been the other person’s fault but you are reaping the consequences either way.

Illustration -

Joseph in the book of Genesis did the right thing and ended up in slavery and then prison, but what was the end result of his righteousness before God? He became second to no one but the Pharoah of the land of Egypt. God raised him up. Just like at the second coming of the Lord, the righteous will be raised up for all eternity to rule and reign with Him. Our job is to not give up, no matter what situations we find ourselves in. Even to the point of death. One day the redeemed will rise for all eternity.

Matthew 7:7–8 NLT

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Don’t give up on God and give in to sin.

Life Principle– We Will Be Tested, Don’t Let It Or Anything Else Be An Excuse For Sin.

Call to Action – altar call….